YOU MUST BE DREAMING
Gauguin wannabes or those who simply long to learn something new can celebrate Christmas in Tahiti Dec. 21-31 while taking a watercolor painting class with artist Carol Duchamp, who works out of the Te Tiare Beach Resort on the island of Huahine. Each day, participants paint, snorkel, canoe, hunt for pearls, picnic and wander the Polynesian islands. The watercolor classes are for beginner or working artists, with instruction tailored toward realistic or abstract expression. Class demonstration and discussion will include paper wetting, color flooding and gradation, brushwork, compositional energy, edge tinting and watercolor crayons. Duchamp teaches watercolor at UC Santa Cruz Extension, City College of San Francisco and for Art Trek. The cost is $3,395 per person ($3,095 for those who don’t participate in the workshop) and includes accommodations (based on double occupancy), all breakfasts, an excursion to the Gauguin Museum and Botanical Garden, ground and water taxi transfers, Christmas dinner, a canoe excursion, pearl farm visit, picnic, six 3-hour watercolor painting classes and one-on-one instruction time. Call 415-868-9558 or visit arttreks.com.
REAL DEALS
A seven-night Thanksgiving
Mediterranean cruise starts at $429 per person double, including all beverages (port charges extra). Also, up to two kids ages 2 to 15 pay only $25 each (plus port charges) when sharing a cabin with two adults. Picasso Cruises is offering the deal on the Nov. 20 and 27 departures from Barcelona, Spain. 800-995-7997, picassotours.com.
Southwest Airlines has a systemwide sale. Purchase 14 days in advance by Aug. 31; travel by Dec. 10. Buy at southwest.com.
“The Wonders of Angkor” – a six-night package to Singapore and Angkor Wat, Cambodia – starts at $1,773 per person double. The Asian Affair Holidays deal includes air from Denver and from Singapore to Siem Reap round trip; two nights at the Regent Singa-
pore; four nights at the Sofitel Royal Angkor Hotel; breakfasts; tours; and transfers. Book by Sept. 15; travel by Sept. 30. riced separately, air is about $1,473 each and the hotels about $1,435 per couple. 877-523-0568, asianaffairholidays.com.
– The Washington Post
BOOK YOUR VACATION
If picturing your vacation makes it come alive for you, then “The Top 100 Most Beautiful Rustic Vacations of North America” ($22.95, Rusty Duck Press) is like being there. Rarely do the photos in a guidebook nearly overtake the information, but this compilation by author Dusty Dave – whose grinnin’, cowboy hat-wearin’ photo in the back just adds to the folksy appeal – is a delight just to pan through, never mind that it also offers up those 100 ranches, cabins and lodges. The pages are rustic themselves, thick, heavy stock that allows for plenty of ink for those photos to settle in, making for vibrant colors that nearly leap off the pages. Each lodging gets two whole pages, with activities, rates, basic contact info, capacity and season, with several paragraphs describing what makes it special. The photos clearly try to capture that, as well, focusing on surroundings, stunning rooms, wildlife and activities such as horseback riding and fishing. At the back of the book, Dusty Dave has included a few jokes, some ghost stories and an index that helpfully cross-references the lodgings so you can search for places that offer things such as spas and dogsledding, or are romantic, pet friendly or welcome kids.
GEO QUIZ | Where are these places?
1. Which country borders more countries – Botswana or China?
2. Which desert is larger in area – the Kalahari or the Atacama?
3. Which country is made up of many islands – the Philippines or Cambodia?
4. Which country is on the island of Hispaniola – Suriname or the Dominican Republic?
5. Moldova borders Romania and which other country – France or Ukraine?
6. The Falkland Islands are off the coast of which country – Vietnam or Argentina?
7. Which island is politically a part of Italy – Sardinia or Majorca?
8. The Yucatán Channel separates Mexico from which country – Guatemala or Cuba?
9. To fly directly from Brazil to Angola, you would travel in which general direction – east or north?
10. Which islands are known especially for their wildlife that was studied by Charles Darwin – the Orkneys or the Galápagos?
ANSWERS: 1. China 2. Kalahari 3. Philippines 4. Dominican Republic 5. Ukraine 6. Argentina 7. Sardinia 8. Cuba 9. east 10. Galápagos
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
